The Lockwood's Great Race!

We are firing up the old blog again so you all can follow along with our race to China.  We are in the last few weeks of trying to complete paperwork and fund raise the funds to adopt Guo before his 14th birthday when he would age out of adoption.  We got to meet this brave, funny boy this summer.  He stole our hearts and helped us come to the realization that we CAN add to our busy, crazy family again through God's grace, because he is worth it!

  If you would like to show your support you can purchase one (or several :)) of these cool t-shirts.  To order, please click on the "Donate"  button above.  A minimum 20.00 donation is requested.  Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement!  Stay tuned because we will be posting updates on our progress!

Men's and Children's t-shirt

Lady's fitted Tee Front

Lady's fitted Tee - Back

Swallow's Nest Visit

We are so grateful for China Little Flower, Swallow's Nest and their loving staff who have cared for Benjamin since he was only a couple of days old. He spent the 1st year of his life in Beijing at China Little Flower and then went to  Swallow's Nest.  We had the honor of getting to meet Clay Williams and Rebekah Gilley of "the nest" while we visited in Zhengzhou. Clay's wife Pam is currently in the U.S. helping to care for her father. They have four baby homes located in Benjamin's hometown of Zhengzhou. They are located in different apartments and are set up to be a normal home environment for the children. They children housed there range in age from newborn to about 5 years old. They take in premature and medically vulnerable babies so they can receive the neccesary attention they need in order to survive. These children are then loved, nurtured and prayed back to health as they wait for their forever families to find them. This incredible organization also comes to the aid of families who dearly love their children but lack the money to have surgeries and other medical care done for them. They releive some of the financial burden from these parents so that they are not forced to abandon their children. They also partner with a professional au pair program and help to train nannies who are placed all over the world. They have an incredible impact in their community. Their genuine love and sincerity in their work is so evident, as is the fact that there is only one source that such love could flow from continually. Our visit with Clay and Rebecca at Swallow's Nest was life changing! I encourage you to check out their website, they have a bunch of kids who need sponsorship, as well as other needs.  Any donations you make go directly to their work, with the only administrative costs being the nannies' salaries. www.swallowsnestzz.org

I will post more pictures when we have a better connection, and there are a few more on our facebook page.
James 1:27 being lived out

Introducing the Littlest Lockwood

This has been quite a day!All the families met in the lobby at 9:30 this morning and went by bus to the civil affairs office to meet our children. The building was much nicer than last time and the growth in special needs adoptions from Henan is evident. After arriving, the babies began arriving a few at a time. It was indescribable to witness families meeting and being knit together simultaneousely. There was not a dry eye in the place! I worked hard to gain my composure before Yin Ji arrived. I didn't want him to have to deal with my tears on top of his own emotions. His sisters were so excited! I loved that they could be a part of the beginning of this miracle. When he finally arrived, his daddy recognized him from across the room and jogged over to get him.  Poor little guy was so overwhelmed by strangers, and crying toddlers. He cried a little bit and then withdrew like a turtle into his shell. He snuggled close and shut his eyes. He appeared to sleep through most of the process, but I think it was his way of coping. He was wrapped in the blanket with our picture on it that his Auntie Abby gave us for Christmas. I would catch him opening his eyes and peeking at us, but if we attempted to engage him at all he quickly withdrew. That didn't last long at all. When we got back to the hotel room he quickly shifted gears and lit up. He has been smiley and happy and BUSY! He is into everything. He is also tiny.  He is wearing the only pair of 12 month pants I packed and the waist is rolled over. We will have to do some shopping tomorrow since everything else I brought is 1 months. We fed him and when I finally layed him down for a nap he promptly climbed out of his crib. We are going to practice our Chinese and learn to say "lay down, night night" very soon! He finally collapsed at about 5 tonight and is sleeping peacefully. Thank you all so much for your love, prayers and support. Please continue to pray for us in China as well as the boys and my parents.

Beijing With the Girls

We arrived safe and sound after a 12 hour flight.  The girls did wonderfully. The flight was not overly full, thankfully. We have been trying to get on a good schedule here before we go on to Benjamin's province to meet him. The 1st place our tour group went was to a hutong village. After that we toured a silk factory where we got a lesson/demonstration in how silk is made and manufactured. They had an incredible array of handmade silk rugs, clothing, and bedding. In the afternoon we went to the forbidden city. It was beautiful. The girls have done very well. Hannah has a cold so by early evening she is fairly exhausted but she is hanging in there ok. We are thankful to have Ashley with us to help keep an eye on miss Faith.  The next day, we toured the Great Wall and attended a Chinese acrobate show. We have enjoyed seeing the girls experience Beijing, but we are ready to get going to Zhengzhou and meet our boy!

The Furious 5

I am going to be blogging regularly again to journal our adoption story of the newest little Lockwood. We recently went to Kung Fu Panda 2, and the kids decided that next year for Halloween they would all dress up as the Furious 5. They decided their newest little brother should be Mantis, because he is little!

He is currently residing at the Swallows Nest. I will update my links so that if you are interested you can take a look. The founders, Pam and Clay have a pretty amazing life story and are being used mightily in Zhengzhou. So, without further adieu , may I introduce you to Benjamin! We will be meeting him on Monday, the 30th.

Joseph's Adoption Story

Brian put this together last night for church on Sunday. Joseph loves to watch it. The pictures do a much better job at expressing why my heart is so full.

Baptised and Sunburned

About 3 minutes after I made the last post, the phone rang. It was about 3:00 pm and it was Isaac. The kids are only allowed to call home in case of emergency, and I immediately wondered what had happened. He then proceeded to ask me if it was alright if he got baptized and explained that he really felt like he understood what he was doing and that he was ready. I had to laugh and shake my head at myself after I hung up the phone. Today we went down today and picked him up. He has the worst sunburn I've ever seen and is exhausted. Isaac did tell me he was pretty sure he took a couple of showers this week, : ) Joseph has really struggled at night while Isaac was gone. The change really seemed to affect his sense of security. He is very glad his big brother is home. Hannah was so excited to see him she belched in his face. Isaac was really impressed. Faith wrote Isaac a letter at camp, he is her hero(most of the time). They all talked very loudly and at the same time for most of the drive home. There is never a dull and very seldom even a quiet moment in our lives right now, and I am so grateful for the fun we have.

Trust

Okay, well here goes! I had the opportunity to have a phone conversation with a new blog friend last week who God has used tremendously to encourage my faith and trust in him in all situations. She shared how therapeutic blogging has been for her and during our conversation we laughed about how hard it is to set aside time for journaling, scrap booking, etc with busy young families. So I decided to start blogging again for a couple of reasons. First, I want to have something for my children when they get older, since their baby books are pretty pathetic! (Sorry kids!) and also so that I can remind myself regularly of the love that is poured out on us continually. Today is Isaac's 3rd day at bible camp. He is 9 and has never been away from Brian and I for more than a night and only to grandma's, aside from a trip we took 31/2 years ago to Hawaii for our 10th anniversary. I miss him terribly and pray that his heart is being wooed by Father even as I type this. Father is revealing to me on an almost daily basis right now how much more I need to trust him with my kids. (Ha! I should say His kids) Anyway, He is showing me how I have attempted to shield them from struggle, conflict and suffering. From Joseph's spinal cord surgery to which class they are in this fall I have wanted to protect them. More than anything else I want them to experience His love in a genuine, authentic way. I want the Jesus that I introduce them to to be the real thing and not as Depheche Mode said "my own personal Jesus" contrived from my limited mind and experience. So I am endevouring to let go and trust more this week, reminding myself that we have the most incredible Father of all and He really does know best.

Hair By Brother Isaac

Update on Joseph 03-29-09

It has been a long time since we have posted any updates, but w/Joseph's upcoming surgery we figured the blog might be a good way to keep you all posted on how things are going. Joseph has been home for almost 12 weeks now. He is an incredible, sweet little guy. He walks as fast as his little foot will allow him to. He refers to himself as "Josa and Jo Jo." Joseph's favorite thing to do is to ride up and down our driveway with Hannah in her battery powered gator. Joseph is scheduled for surgery on the 8th of April at Denver Children's Hospital. They will be untethering his spinal cord from a tumor. The CT and MRI have indicated that it is a fatty tumor, so they won't have to remove it all. The doctor expects him to be in the hospital for about a week. We are praying for it to go smoothly and his surgeons to have skill and wisdom. If any of you out there are still following along, let me know and we'll be sure to keep posting updates.

We made it to Guangzhou last night about 8:00 pm and checked into the White Swan hotel. It is warm and tropical here. We added some pictures of Joseph on his potty. He likes it alot, because he has mastered scooting around on it for transportation. It gives his knees a break and helps him be mobile. On the plus side he also uses it some! Here he scooted all the way from the middle of our room to the hall of this nice hotel. He was quite pleased with himself. We are feeling very blessed that he is in such good spirits. He had to have 5 vaccinations at his physical appointment today. Joseph seems to be pretty scared of doctors and strangers in general and I'm not sure today will help him get over that. He had 1 shot in each leg 1 in the L arm and 2 in the right which they gave individually and agonizingly slow. We are so glad that the shots are behind us now. The Thompsons hung out the extra half hour at the clinic with us to lend moral support. They are wonderful. We were able to reschedule our flights to return a day earlier on the 9th yesterday. It is fun here in Guangzhou, but we really miss Faith and Hannah and are looking forward to being with them soon. United has been amazing. They gave us very competitive fares, helped us track down bags and rescheduled the flight earlier with no charge. Tomorrow we will either be touring the city or going to the zoo depending on the consensus of the group. Our guide here is excellent. His name is Jason and he takes good care of all of us. We have had incredible help here from our CCAI guides. Joseph is an amazing intelligent little boy. He is more lively every day. He stayed with Brian today for a nap while I completed paperwork and took out laundry. He is usually pretty smiley but has occasional tantrums much like most 2 year olds I know. It has been so much fun getting to know him. He and Isaac really play well together now. I am so proud of what a sweet(if somewhat wild at times) big brother he is. God has blessed me more than I can express with an incredible family. I miss all of you and love you.

Adventures in Guangzhou

Brian's Account of Luoyang

Megan wanted me to tell my version of the trip to Luoyang before I forget since it has been 2 days already. The orphanage was very cold in the entryway and the hallways, very much like a meat locker. The classrooms and sleeping quarters were heated and comfortable enoughwith the several layers of clothes the kids were in. When we entered the first classroom we were greeted with a big Nihao! from the kids and many wanted their pictures taken. I videotaped the rooms so the number of actual photos I took were few. I did get footage of Joseph and his nanny saying goodbye and his sleeping quarters, classrooms and the fifth floor intensive care. I hope when he has questions about where he came from we can honestly tell him that we collected everything that was possible. The staff at the orphanage treats the children well and the kids that went back into the orphanage were hunted down by their nannies who gave them hugs and kisses and wished them well. Joseph stayed with the infants, probably because of his limited mobility, and in his sleeping room there were several children ranging from 2 years old to only a few days old with some of them being obvious pre-mature births. a couple kids in this room had pneumonia. Later Megan told me that Joseph was sick when he first was at the orphanage. It is a terrible time of year for these children to be abandoned because if they aren't discovered quickly they could freeze to death. We moved upstairs to the ICU floor which was a more comfortable temperature and very clean compared to normal living standards we have witnessed here with a good atmosphere and saw children with about every conceivable special need out there. There were kids with congenital blindness, renal failure, spinabifida, cerebral palsy, downs syndrome and pneumonia. There was an infant there who was in renal failure. The good thing was that they were in a nurturing atmosphere receiving care from people that seemed to want to be there. My opinion of New Hope is that they are being good stewards of what they have been given. We weren't shown the rest of the orphanage where the older children are. We did get to see some very cute, shy but friendly boys about Isaac's age when we very 1st entered.

Luoyang Part 2

Sorry for the super short post. I was completely exhausted after the trip. It was an amazing, but hard day. There have been several of you who went over and got your children who graciously took pictures of Joseph. If you look back through the pictures, he is almost always being held by the same tiny older lady. Yesterday Joseph got a chance to say goodbye, and we got the gift of knowing that he was deeply loved and and formed a real bond with this woman. This was a bitter sweet experience. I was thankful they got 1 more chance to see each other and say goodbye, and even more thankful to know that Joseph has experienced a loving relationship, but my heart hurt for him as he grieved when we left. We did get her to write him a short note for his baby book. I was able to see his playroom and the half the sky preschool room. At that point I took Joseph back to the bus and Brian and Isaac continued on. For those of you who asked us to inquire about older kids I am sorry we didn't succeed in getting to visit them or get any info.. I wonder if Mike who is on the Luoyang yahoo group could assist? Because it was a holiday the orphanage director was off. After our visit at the orphanage we visited the finding sites for the 3 boys. First we went to the women and children's hospital to photograph the entrance for another family. They have a precious 3 1/2 year old boy from Luoyang and it has been so much fun to travel with them. The dad is a science teacher, so those of you who know Isaac can imagine how much he is enjoying their company! The next stop was at an appliance store front a couple of blocks from the hospital. Is was in a busy, well populated area and babies are frequently left there as well. Jospeh's finding site was quite a ways away, 30 minutes in the wrong direction from Longmen Grottos which we were supposed to visit. The other families gfenerously offered to miss seeing the grottos so we would have time to go to Joseph's site. We finally made it to Joseph's site which was at a city forest park in an industrial area of town. We got pictures of the entrance of the park. Another 1 of the families said that it reminded them of central park.It was a very emotional day. On the way out of Luoyang we stopped at a pottery shop for momentos from the boys home town. Luoyang is famous for tri colored pottery and was the capital city for 7 of 9 dynasties in China so it is rich in history. The ride back was interesting. The landscape was beautiful. We passed a lot of caves which still have people living in them. There were several small farming villages that appeared to have only fire as their source of heat.We got back in to Zhengzhou last evening and had dinner with the Thompsons at Island Coffee, a restaraunt close to the hotel. Brian tried to order soy sauce for his rice and they couldn't understand him. He tried saying it very slowly, and with several different accents. These poor people tried their very best to accomadate him and brought out ketchup, hot sauce, and another sauce to try and help, but no soy sauce no matter how Brian said it. I wish I had a tape. We have enjoyed our travel group so much on this trip and can really see how God put this group of families together. Joseph is continuing to trust us a little more each day. It has been a slow but incredibly rewarding experience.

Happy New Year!

Yesterday we trekked to the lotus center and restocked on supplies for our stay. the rest of the day we stayed at the room. Joseph slept quite a bit, so Megan had a break from holding him. I was able to carry him a little at the lotus center and he tolerated my cart for a while but he still seems to prefer Meg to me. We think he still feels sick. he had a low grade fever and the diarrhea hasn't left yet. Joseph is still not sure what to make of us. Yesterday I cut up an apple and placed it in front of him. Wanting to interact with him I tried to see if he would give me a bite. when he would not, I took a slice and he reached out and took it back. I grabbed another and he did the same. we repeated it until his little hand was full. Joseph will trade toys, but if you give him food it is his. We were going to eat at the Italian restaurant last night but it was closed for another private party, and the price at the "Western grill" downstairs was ramped up for the holiday approx $50 US per person. So I was went on a Mcdonalds run. 30minutes round trip and lots of confusion even with a picture menu. (there is a problem with the translation of 2 of these or three of these, or inside or outside. The people try hard to accommodate us, we simply cannot understand each other:)Beijing and Hongkong have many more English speaking people, I am not sure about Guangzhou but will know soon enough. The skies have been pretty good, 6-8 miles visibility. Today we will go to the museum, tomorrow the orphanage in Luoyang.

Megan and the boys posing with the Vice Director and the Teachers from Luoyang orphanage









The proud big brother. Isaac is still smiling, he has experienced so much so far. I think he misses his ferret "Jack" and his sisters.

Day 3 in Zhengzhou

We had an interesting day yesterday. We had to go back to the registration office and the notary office to complete the adoption paperwork. Joseph seemed pretty content in the morning until it was time to leave. When we started dressing him in his coat to go, we heard him cry for the first time. Leaving the room caused him some anxiety and he wanted me(Megan) When we got back to the registration office he played cars with the other boys as long as he was sitting in my lap. The ladies from his orphanage were there again. He didn't seem to want to go see them at all. When we posed for pictures with them, the assistant director reached over and took him and he immediately cried out and reached back for me. They seemed very pleased with his reaction. From watching them interact with the other boys it seems evident that they genuinely care for the kids. Brian and I are very impressed with the way that the boys play with each other. They will share with each other and trade toys. You can tell that they have been worked with. The visit really threw Joseph for a loop, though. He was very emotional and scared the rest of the day. I think it was a confusing experience for him. He had a restless night sleeping with me wiggling all over the bed and climbed out of the bed and layed on the floor at 1 point. He woke up happy this morning and was warm with Brian and Isaac. He giggled for his daddy. I was quite pleased when I walked in from the bathroom and he pointed at me and said "Mama" until about 5 minutes later when he called Isaac's nintendo DS mama:)He He. He is definently coming out of his shell more today. Joseph also used the potty 1st thing this morning. We took a bus to the Lotus store as a group today and bought some stuff for our trip to Luoyang. Nanci, you were right , that was quite an experience! The plan for the next few days is tomorrow to go to the museum, the next day the Luoyang orphanage and Longmen Grottos, and the day after that the group will go to the martial arts show. We have elected to sit out the Shaolin Temple. We did ask if we can visit his finding site in Luoyang and also the old city gate replica that Nanci told us about. Thank you all so much for your prayers for all of us. This has been an indescribable experience. What an amazing love God has allowed us to be a part of, and this is only the beginning!Faith and Hannah, I miss you so much, but I know you are having a fun vacation with your Auntie Kathy and Grandma. I love you with all my heart and can't wait to be with you again soon and introduce you to your brother. I know you will be very special big sisters.

12/29/2008 Gotcha Day

Finally! we received Joseph Today!! We have showm the most emotion today. Joseph is adjusting to us slowly. He lets us change him and feed him, but he is very quiet so far and sits or lies down wherever we place him. I think that he is coping with this drastic change by shutting down :( He will play with his toys and eat whatever we offer him. He also tells us when he doesn't want something like a glass of water or a particular toy by pushing it awat from him. I try to turn the TV on for him some so he can at least hear chinese people and it seems to distract him well. We did not know if he has started talking yet, but when we were in the bathroom and he was in his crib I heard him speak something in chinese. He has a cute voice. I returned and he said nothing so I went to the bathroom again and he said another word. I returned to him and more silence. so far he has been a saint. helps to dress himself, holds his legs high when you change him. ( I am used to wrestling matches with toddlers!) Luggage arrived this evening!! so we have our necessities and medications for Joseph. His overall condition is good. He does have pretty bad diarrhea, our guide went to the store and brought us some smecta powder that we are supposed to give him to allieviate that. I figure i'll google it and find out what it does exactly. Other than that he has a little exczema and a rattly cough but our antibiodics we brought should do the trick. we examined his foot and it looks like he has been walking on it enough to make it swollen and discolored. he doesn't complain of pain though and you can touch it without reaction from him. Isaac is enjoying the trip and Joseph seems to like his company. I think he will be a big help with entertaining his little brother. Megan and myself are well, even with the stresses of time change, tight schedule and hanging out in cities of mulitple millions of people. Billions in Beijing i think. We have gotten along better and laughed through our grouchiness better than when we have been under much less stress. we miss you all. Keep praying for us! Evelyn believes that it is very likely we will be able to arrange a visit to the orphanage in the next few days so we will keep you all updated on the specifics. We hope to get pictures for those of you who are waiting and I know that Heather is planning on doing the same. The Thompsons arrived late yesterday afternoon after many flight cancellations, delays and lost luggage to find out that their son Drew was already here waiting for them. We are praying God will reenergize and refresh them. The other families are wonderful. We hope to be able to upload video of when we all met our chjildren yesterday but are having a few technical difficulties. We will try again later.

12-28-2008 in Zhengzhou

The body has a way of resisting change. I woke up every hour or so and struggled to sleep until our 6:00 goal. We ate a good breakfast and met up with two other families for our flight to Zhengzhou. The flight was on time and uneventful. still no baggage yet, but we are hopeful for tomorrow. The visibility is poor, maybe 2 miles at best and the haze from the pollution even filled the hallways of the airports. Otherwise both cities we have been to have been very clean. The people continue to be polite and kind. There have been a couple of beggars that were a bit aggressive, but gave up shortly as we walked on. We will meet with our group at 9:30 tomorrow for a short walk down the street to pick up our children. Nine more days of waiting and bonding in Zhengzhou, then we will fly to Guangzhou. I'll let Megan describe the Lotus Center that we shopped at tonight. Megan just said she was too tired to write tonight, but to tell Kathy we will Skype her and the girls tomorrow when we get back to the room, should be after 8:30 PM your time. Miss you guys.